Seafood Feast At The Lagoon

Just got back from a very brief yet very relaxing holiday in Colombo. We stayed at Cinnamon Grand Colombo, which after its recent facelift of rooms is fast becoming the most sought after five-star hotel in Colombo. The remarkable versatility and variety of the venues featured at the Cinnamon Grand with options ranging from wining and dining in sophisticated plush surroundings to under the stars are a major draw.

We chose to dine at the Lagoon Seafood Restaurant, overlooking the hotel's very own artificial lagoon. The restaurant provides you with the opportunity to pick your own choice of produce fresh from the catch of the day. Be it Thai, Chinese, Indian, Continental or local flavours, the Lagoon lets you decide how you want to eat your seafood - spiced, fried, boiled, steamed or even grilled.

The décor with the gleam of steel and a shining floor dominating the scene creates a classy ambience and the concealed lighting soothes the eye. Food expectations were high as the reputation of the Lagoon as the best restaurant in the city preceded it. Colombo offers a complete range of cuisines, from spicy local and Indian curries to Japanese sushi. Sri Lankan cuisine is one glorious experience and local spices, the essence of Sri Lankan cooking, are artistically added to the renowned dishes from destinations across the globe, presenting the gourmet palate with new tastes.

We started with a platter of Assorted Sushi with squid, shrimps, salmon and Sushi Rolls with Nori served with Pickled Ginger and Wasabi. Not the very best that I have tasted, but for the first timer extremely good. The offerings included shellfish ranging from lagoon crab to sea crab, shrimp to king prawns and varieties of fish such as seer, garupa, paraw, tuna, sole, modha and red mullet. You pick from this selection and the chef prepares it exactly to your personal preference. Wife Alyona settled for Grilled Prawns with red chilli and garlic sauce and the prawns were very tender.

My choice for main course was Seer Fish Sri Lankan style with curry leaves, onion and chilli. Extremely satisfactory, aste wise and portion wise too! Also shared the Modha fish with Alyona, simple grilled fillets with lemon butter. On insistence ordered the Wok Fried Vegetables that turned out to be a medley of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, beans and mushrooms. Not really something I will order after having good fish! But to make amends we also tried the Crab Singapore Style with Sweet Chilli Sauce, which more than made up for the vegetables. Gave the fresh oysters, lobsters and red snapper the miss, at least for this meal.

The dessert menu sprang some surprises like the homely Gulab Jamun, Gajar Halwa and something different like Shrikhand with Oranges! We ordered Mango Mousse, Chocolate Fudge with Coffee Cream and Chocolate Sauce and a Citrus Lemon Tart. While paying the tab of something a little over SLR 4,000 for a hearty meal we were happy to be in the hotel premises, as the meal deserved a good sleepover!